Within the Fence
by Dystopian Sisters
Summary: Gale and Katniss live in Chicago, belonging to the Amity faction and their lives take a drastic turn after the death of their fathers,which leads Katniss's family to become factionless. Peeta lives in Abnegation,but his heart belongs to a pretty factionless girl. Tris lives in Dauntless ,where she meets Tobias,a transfer with a dark past.
1. Chapter 1

_Gale's P. O. V_

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I sit in one of Amity's abandoned fields.

The members of Amity in their usual cheerful fashion call it the meadow, but it doesn't resemble one in any way.

Once upon a time, I suppose something used to grow here, but now there is only a sparse cover of grass and some weeds. There are some fields adjacent to the meadow, and sometimes some farmers from my faction come here to eat lunch.

I slowly feel the effects of the serum wearing off.

The serum is one designed by Erudite to help members of my faction who can't keep peace to maintain calm.

To say that I cannot keep peace is an understatement.

My friend Katniss used to tell me that a day that went by without the two of us being poked by the needles was a day wasted.

None of us what anyone could exactly call friendly, and we would get into fights all the time,sometimes even with each other,and when scoldings didn't work,even children were injected with serum. Anything to keep the peace. Even children were expected to follow faction behaviour once they start attending school. After all we have a reputation to uphold.

When the serum used to reduce both of us to a giggling mess, Katniss and I wold come to the meadow till it wore off

She's the only person who truly understands me,because both of us do not belong here.

We would come to the meadow and dream about living in another faction,one where we could be ourselves .It could be worse ,of course,we could have been stuck as Stiffs,who true to their nickname were stiff and formal all the time.

Many think that Amity is one of the better factions. But a lot goes on underneath the veil of kindness and brotherhood. For people who cannot adhere to the factions values,there was no kindness.

Katniss and I, we could deal with it though. When we were together in the meadow,nothing else mattered.

But for the past two years I have been coming alone.

You see,

My father and hers used to be the best of friends. They were both excellent men and were probably some of our best workers.

My own father was a skilled farmer. Even the most withered crops wold flourish under his care, even when the fancy fertilizers Erudite made wouldn't do their work.

My brother Rory shows the same talent.

Katniss's own father had the most beautiful voice you could ever hear. It would make you laugh and cry at the same time and it almost seemed that the birds would stop and listen when he sang.

During our faction sing alongs, he would be always in great demand.

Even Katniss has the same talent as him - or had, I wouldn't know. Since she left, I have no clue whether she's alive or not. I giggle at this thought, probably due to the lingering effects of the serum

They all say, it was an accident. Of course my peace loving faction would say so.

A Dauntless soldier who mans the fence _accidentally_ shot our fathers to death.

But I don't believe it. Not one bit.

And nor did Katniss's mother apparently, because she went and killed the same soldier who murdered our fathers.

Donna, Katniss's mother, went crazy after her husband's death.

Katniss tells me she would stay in bed, all day long, just staring into space and rocking herself.

And then one fine day, apparently, Katniss had had enough. her mother's behavior was not only affecting her but also Prim, her sister, who would cry all day seeing he mother so upset. Sick and tired of her mother doing nothing, and Prims crying, she yelled at her mother , and told her to do something, anything.

Something about her reaction must have scared Katniss, because she came running to me in the meadow . "You should have seen her face, Gale," she told me, seriously, her intense grey eyes huge with fear " She looked like a madwoman. I didn't know what to do "

On our way back , we noticed a commotion near the loading station

A tingle of the premonitory kind ran through me as I noticed the person at the centre of the crowd.

A woman with blonde hair and blue eyes.

The woman was Katniss's mother.

She had murdered the man who had killed her husband.

Deciding what to do with her took the longest time, with the members seemingly taking an eternity to decide what to do, as they sat around the Tree and debated while Katniss and her little sister Prim , who was bawling her eyes out. Prim's blue eyes, the same color as her mother were streaming with tears and she was clinging to Katniss's arm as if her life depended upon it.

Katniss in turn was squeezing my hand so hard that I couldn't feel my fingers.

Her face was devoid of any emotion, but I was sure that inwardly she was as much of a mess as me. I had no clue what would happen,I didn't understand how Katniss's mother could have done such a thing.

She was a nurse in the hospital,she _saved_ lives,not _take_ them!

The rest of it was a blur. I only remember Katniss's mother weeping hysterically when our faction representative ,Johanna,stood up to announce the verdict. My heart was hammering and I tightly clutched Katniss's hand.

She was my only friend and we had been through a lot together. I didn"t want her to go. Johanna announced that amity was no place for a murderer. Belladonna Everdeen had to leave Amity,and her children would remain with the faction.

I didn't know whether to feel relieved or not that Katniss would remain with me. But then she would loose both of her parents.

I remember hearing a loud,childish cry of protest.

"You can't make mommy go," sniffled Prim with all her childish innocence "and I won't stay without mommy. If she goes, then I go with her. "

My heart sank

There was no way that Katniss would stay without her sister.

In the end it was decided.

A murderers children were probably tainted too.

Better get rid of them early.

So much for Kindness.

They would go , immediately, with their mother.

For supposedly being the kindest faction, Amity did not live up to its reputation.

I only got enough time to hug Katniss before she was taken from me and her family was escorted outside the gates of our faction. I watched as the gates were closed on them, and they were left behind with nothing but the clothes on their back.

That was the last time I ever saw her.

The harsh bell that signals curfew sounds, breaking me out of my thoughts. The sky is dark now, and it is no longer safe to be in the open. I have to head back to the Amity compound.

My throat feels choked off, as it always is when I think about Her. But at least this means that the effect of the serum has worn off.

I get up,brushing the grass off the seat of my ridiculous red trousers.

Our faction clothing is too bright for my taste.

I wish Katniss was here, I could give anything to talk to her right now.

Tomorrow is the day of the aptitude test.

It is the day I will find out which faction I truly belong to.

I pass by a truck filled to the brim with Dauntless warriors, some of them even hanging off the sides of the truck.

They are dressed entirely in black, many of them heavily tattooed, with piercings and hair dyed in every colour imaginable.

They seem carefree, laughing constantly and and making jokes,

But you can also see their guns. I can never overlook the guns, because one of them killed my father.

But still, this faction has a certain appeal to me. The Ddauntless are fearless They don't listen to anyone or care what anyone says. Most people see the Dauntless as hellions, uncouth people who seem brash and insolent. But to me, they are _F__ree_. And in Amity, where I am forced to wear a mask of kindness, I am not.  
When I reach home, I find that my mother is already home, along with my sister, Posy. My brother Rory is nowhere in sight, and I assume he is out playing with one of his friends.

My mother is very pretty, with olive skin and dark brown hair like me, though hers are streaked with grey. Her face is prematurely aged too, with lines at the corner of her mouth. A permanent aura of grief surrounds since the death of my father, but her face breaks into a smile upon seeing me and she ensconces me in a giant hug.

You cannot deny that we are not an affectionate people.

Before she can say anything, Rory bursts into room , looks straight and me, and exclaims,"You punched Jack! You said you weren't going to hit people anymore!"He pouts at me, his expression chastising. My brother was truly born for Amity. "It's wrong to hit people! Why did you hit him?"

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again. "I say, trying to look duly sorry.

"Promise?" he asks, his face almost mournful. "Promise. It was my fault, I got angry. "I reply. "It won't happen again."

He seems happy with my answer, and after giving my mother and I super fast hugs, he runs off to do whatever he does.

The boy I punched, Jack was being extremely annoying. I think that he deserved that black eye. In fact, I find all members of my faction annoying. They all seem to think that I'm depressed because of what happened to my father and Katniss's family and that's the reason I won't join in for any of their games. At regular intervals of time, people keep coming up to me and give me pep up talks, telling me to socialize more and inviting me over for some game or sing along or whatever.

I'm not depressed, I like being on my own, but when I tell them just that they'll give me a disbelieving look and go on harping about the latest gossip or scandal,ignoring what I said. "Debbie just broke up with her boyfriend! And guess who she's going out with now!... "And so on and so forth. I usually try to control my temper as they keep drivelling ,but most of the time I end up losing my temper and hitting them ,which invariably gets me sent to a sterile room where a kindly looking man will shove a needle into me, making me act like a compete lunatic.

I give an involuntary shudder and shake myself out of it, only to see my mother looking at me. I wince mentally, bracing myself, thinking that she is going to give me a lecture on "Do not hit or yell your fellow faction members Gale, they are only being nice"

I get ready to apologize profusely, but when she opens her mouth the words that come out of her mouth the words that come out are not what I expect.

"You have a big day tomorrow," she says, smiling knowingly, deliberately not mentioning my 'incident' today "are you nervous?"she enquires.

I inwardly sigh with relief. I love my mother, and I hate what I put her through. It's been difficult for us after the death of my father, and I haven't been making things easier by going around and punching people.

"A little bit," I reply, trying to joke a little "but I'm going to join Dauntless anyway because I hear their cake rocks. I don't particularly care for JellO" I expect her to agree or even maybe smile a little bit, but her face suddenly contorts into an emotion I cannot 's sad.. and filled with longing? I cannot be sure. Suddenly she emits a little noise which might be a sob, and I suddenly realise what I have done - joked about the joining the faction which killed my father.

Way to put you foot into your mouth Gale, I tell myself wryly.

And she didn't even say anything about punching that poor sod.

I feel awful, and I open my mouth to say something, when Posy chooses that exact moment to trip over our faded yellow carpet and starts wailing loudly. My mother immediately rushes over to sooth her, stroking her hair and telling her it's okay while simultaneously checking for any injuries. There aren't any, and when my mother gives Posy her tattered old doll she immediately stops crying and it's like nothing ever happened I the first place. When my mother is done I try to apologize but she sort of just brushes me away and tells me that it was nothing.  
Dinner is an uneventful affair- in Amity, everyone always eats together in the large dining hall, and so everyone is chattering and laughing. I eat next to my family, quietly. I apologised to Jack on my way to the dining hall, who was sporting a purplish bruise on his right eye. I felt a little sorry for a moment, but he brushed it off and wished me luck for the aptitude test.

The food itself is plain, but we do have JellO for dessert, I guess as a sort of special treat before the aptitude test.

My siblings are ecstatic, but I quickly eat my food and head back to our apartment, not bothering to stick around for the nightly sing along. I stopped this practice after Katniss left, because the sing alongs don't have the same appeal without her.

I retire for the night in the room I share with Rory, but I don't feel that I'll sleep any time soon.

I can't stop thinking about what my result will be. A part of me wishes that I don't get Amity, so that I can escape all this pretence and be free. But another part of me hates myself for thinking so, for thinking about leaving my family. They are all I have now that Katniss is gone.

But they would probably be better of without me.

I try to sleep, but my thoughts keep on buzzing around in my head.

After a while, Rory comes in and is out like a candle in a moment, but sleep keeps on evading me.

I am wondering what my father would tell me if he were here now when the door cracks open and my mother tiptoes into the room.

This is highly unusual for her and I look at her questioningly.

She sits at the edge of my bed and combs her fingers through my hair, like she used to when I was a child and had nightmares. The gesture is extremely comforting and at that moment I feel awful for wanting to leave the only people who love me so much.

" I love you Gale," she tells me, breaking the silence. "You know that, right,?" I blink confusedly, wondering what she wants to talk about. "I love you too mom.", I reply

" I know you don't feel like you belong here," she tells me. "And I want you to know, that no matter what result you get, you'll still be my son and I'll always love you. I don't want you to stay here because you feel like you should. I want you to follow your heart. "

I feel myself tearing up, but before I can reply, she plants a soft kiss on my forehead and walks out of the room with the same strange expression she had on her face in the evening.

Eventually, I sleep claims me sometime while pondering about what my mother said.

In the morning, I get up late and run to the showers. Fortunately, one of the stalls is empty, and I shower quickly. It's not like anyone dawdles over their shower anyway, with the showers lasting for only 5 minutes and the water freezing cold.

I change into a clean red shirt and brown pants and grab some breakfast.

My mother hugs me and wishes me luck and Posy gives me a drool filled kiss on the cheek.

I catch the bus with Rory, who is in middle school and we part ways on the entryway.

He scampers away when he sees a friend of his, but halfway through he runs back, flings his arms around my neck and wishes me luck.

My throat chokes up a little.

I go to my first class, which is Calculus, which I hate and usually seems to last for years, but today it rushes along and before I know it, I'm sitting on a table surrounded by other Amity waiting for my name to be called. Most other Amity doesn't seem very bothered, and why should they be, because it's obvious they're going to get Amity anyway.

Most of the other kids from other factions don't seem bothered either, but a few, like a kid from Abnegation, who is tall and scrawny with trimmed short brown hair who looks absolutely terrified. He's fidgeting with the buttons of his gigantic grey shirt and I wonder whether he's terrified that he'll get Abnegation or terrified that he won't.

I here my name being called and I slowly get up and walk into the testing room, where a Stiff with lank mouse coloured hair smiles at me , sits me in a chair, attaches some electrodes to my temples and hands me a tiny glass of blue serum which she tells will induce the simulation.

"Drink up," she says.

I shakily lift the glass to my mouth and gulp it down in one go.

My ears are hammering and my heart is pounding as I wait for the serum to take effect.

It's time for me to find where I belong.

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_**Authoresses Note: **__Thank you for reading!_ Hope you liked the first chapter! The first two or three chapters might be a little slow,but after that things will pick right up. 

_ Please drop in a review and keep reading :)_


	2. Chapter 2

**Tobias P.O.V**

* * *

'Help!' A voice from within me yells, as if someone would actually hear me and come to my rescue. Another day of being cramped into the closet, another day of being bruised. The thought of the leather belt hitting my skin sends shivers through my body and I sob . Sobbing, that's what I have been doing since the morning. The walls of the closet seem to close in on me, squeezing me from all six sides. My body frame is too big for this small closet and I feel the droplets of sweat on my forehead and the back of my neck.

Assuming by the time I've been in here, my punishment may end at any minute now. This thought is barely formed in my head when the doors of the closet swing wide open and I involuntarily fall on the floor, taking in big lungful's of air.

It takes about a minute to realize that I'm still alive but my joy of it is short lived as I see my father advancing towards me, wrapping one end of his brown leather belt around his right palm. I automatically cringe, hitting my spine hard on the closet door and wince. But soon I realize that what is going to happen is inevitable the moment I hear his words coming out of his mouth.

"Tobias, I hope you know what I'm about to do… Listen to me carefully . tomorrow after the aptitude test you head straight back home. You hear me?" I nod so hard, so many times , I feel my neck as if it has turned into elastic .

His lips curl and he says "Good, and I hope you know what to do once you enter the room?" I don't respond to that and then his expressions change to somewhat of sympathy. "It's for your own good , Tobias" he says. I stare into the emptiness behind him, above his head, avoiding thinking about what will happen. He whips the belt once into the empty air and then comes closer to me and hits me with the belt aiming for my face ,but before his belt could reach my face I fling my arms forward covering my face . I look at him from between the gap of my arms and see him frowning at me, then giving me a questioning look .My heart is beating at such a rapid rate that I can hear it right in my ears as if it has shifted from my chest to somewhere near my throat.

"What?" He shouts. I flinch and close my eyes , still covering my face. I remove my arms from over my face and stand up stumbling on my feet .

I gather all my courage and stammer as a force out the words from by mouth "I…I just wanted to..to remind you that tomorrow is my…my aptitude test and …you wouldn't want to …to bruise my face …Sir" I say quietly as if convincing myself of that. "Stop mumbling, son. say it out loud !"He spits out the last four words so loud ,almost shouting. " Tomorrow is the aptitude test." I don't have to repeat everything for him to understand.

He blankly stares at me and then understanding spreads across his face. For a moment I feel that his intention of hurting me is withdrawing, that he wouldn't hit me before the day of my aptitude test. This moment of hope is short lived as his expressions change . I can't really tell what he's thinking right now.

Then he thoughtfully says " Hmm…so in that case turn around". Fear engulfs me from all sides and I freeze, turned into a statue , not even blinking for a minute.

I soon realize how little I understand him, my father. I wonder what I have ever done to wrong him to be treated in such a way.

"Do you hear me," he says," Turn around ". He shoves me hard on my left shoulder. The impact automatically turns me around. I close my eyes shut and prepare myself for the belt.

The first hit has the worst impact and my knees buckle as the area between my shoulder blades to my lower rib on my right side stings as if millions of ants have bitten through my skin at the same time . I cry out but clap my hand over my mouth. If I cry out loud,he will only hit me harder. Immediately, without giving me time to recover from the first blow, he flogs me again and again till I fall unconscious, after which even if he had hit me I wouldn't have known .

I wake up at around 5 o'clock in the morning, still lying on the carpet on the landing after being tormented all night ,having nightmares about my father and the aptitude test.

I know I wouldn't be able drift off to sleep so I go to the bathroom to take a shower. I take a cold shower as it soothes my sore back . I step out of the shower , dry myself with the towel patting it softly against my back . I try my best not to hurt myself by rubbing my back with the towel.

I take out a worn pair of my Abnegation clothes out of my dresser and get ready for the test . Before heading downstairs I take out the trunk from underneath my bed and take out the blue sculpture my mother gave me . I hug it tightly to my chest . The sight of it brings tears to my eyes and I realize how badly I miss her. I wipe off my tears with the hem of my shirt and put the sculpture back and shift the trunk back underneath my bed.

If Marcus had known what the trunk contains he would have never approved of it . To him, it's just too selfish to keep anything that has no value or purpose . He assumes, as my mother had told him, that it contains spare blankets.

I go to the dining room without over thinking the events of last night. I realize that it's just 6 and Marcus wouldn't be up by now and I give out sigh of relief, involuntarily. I just take out yesterday's leftovers out of the fridge and eat them cold.

Honestly, I am not at all worried about my aptitude are no two ways about it. I will get Abnegation.

How will I not . Marcus has taken full care of me not leaving abnegation . the thought that follows is too painful. What if I don't want abnegation ? what if I escape now and join the factionless? I get the thought out of my mind and close my eyes . I count to 10 taking deep breaths . as soon as I eat my breakfast, I get up and walk out of the front door of my house without doing my dishes. I sit on the first step of the staircase as the wind touches my cheeks softly.

After a minute or two of staring into the empty sky I realise that my eyes are full of tears. Maybe because of the dilemma of whether or not to leave Abnegation . maybe because I miss my mother so badly. If she were here she would have guided me, led me towards the right direction. Maybe if she were here I would not think of leaving Abnegation ,anytime, ever. I wonder if she would have told me to take my chances and escape from Marcus.

A flashback of the sweetest of memories spent with my mother runs through my brain . How ,even after living in Abnegation , she was not a grey clothed personality-less robot. How she could steal some moments from her _selfless _life for herself and defy Marcus without him even noticing it.

I do not realize but I start smiling blankly at the thought.

I feel someone standing behind me and I slowly turn . My throat chokes at the sight of my father . I tell myself ' Tobias,he is your dad . It's okay'. I stand and turn to face him and take a quick glance of his face and then look to my feet. His expressions are unreadable . " what are you doing here son?" he asks in a sympathetic voice.

" I …I –" I am about to answer when he interrupts.

" Anyways . come in."

We enter the house , walk through the living room and up the stairs ,into the hallway.

I look in the mirror, at myself, which is a rare sight . Marcus has already taken out the clippers. He's going to cut my hair. He is never so considerate. I wonder why he's doing it.

He seems to understand what I am about to ask and says " I know . I know .I just wanted to make up for what happened yesterday . I believe it was a bit too extreme, wasn't it?".

His words pierce through my heart like a needle and I just nod blankly. The thought of what had happened yesterday makes all my body parts hurt.

He smiles at me as if satisfied by my answer.

He switches on the clippers and starts cutting my barely long hair to, what we call the Abnegation short. I steal a glance at myself in the mirror. Brown hair ,hooked nose and frowning eyebrows like my mother. I wish she was cutting my hair. I try not to make eye contact with him through the mirror , or maybe the truth is, I can't. Our eyes meet a few times but then I just stare at my shoes and my cut hair.

"There you go" he says . I just look up, into my own eyes. Blue eyes, just like him and nod .

I walk down the alley, passing a couple of houses, to the bus stop . Its only five minutes of waiting and the bus arrives .

Its empty and only the abnegates from this stop climb the bus, most of them are my age. So, we all sit. I believe everyone is worried about the test as all of them keep quiet and still until the next stop comes.

At the next stop a flood of Candors and Erudite get into a bus and all the Abnegates stand and offer them their seats. Not out of courtesy or respect but just for the sake of their faction's name.

I offer my seat to a Candor boy who takes it frivolously. I smile at him and he winks at me.

On reaching the school we let the others get down first and at last step out of the bus.

The school looks same as ever, the same glass walls and the steel rods supporting them. I walk through the front gate to my classroom. My first class is Biology which ends as soon as it starts and then there's is Literature which I can't even remember attending.

The second half is supposed to be for the Aptitude Test so we all assemble in the cafeteria, sitting with our faction members, who may not remain my faction members after tomorrow. The thought of it makes me curse the entire system of this dissection of our society.

Across the room I see different factions sitting on different tables. Some enjoying, talking and playing as if their fate is decided, as if they know what they will get and what they will choose .From them I mean the Amity and the Dauntless . But not all of them are enjoying.

I see a guy sitting across the Amity table, all his friends laughing and cracking joke, but his expressions look somewhat of anxiety and sadness. He doesn't really look like someone who belongs to Amity, his body all muscular and his face clouded with ,I don't know , Anger. Anger, that's not a term one would like to use for Amity. Our eyes meet for a second but I instantly look away.

Some of them have a solid expression as if making strategies for the test. That's of course erudite. All silent and after short intervals one of them would state a fact and all others would nod. Candor, they look normal . Not too excited ,not to anxious . It seems as if for them it's just another day of their calculus exam.

When they call out the name of the first ten students , the entire cafeteria goes silent . I shut my eyes close and put my head down for as long as my name is called out. The time seems to lope so fast.

I wave aside the thought of being inside the room, sitting on the reclining chair, being in the simulation and the only thing I hear is my name along with nine others being called out loud.

I get to my feet and look for the room where I am supposed to go . I advance towards one of the math classrooms which are exclusively used for the aptitude tests. The attendant in front of the room rechecks my name and asks me to go inside. I take a deep breath and slowly open the door to the room.

As I open the door I find a Dauntless woman with dark hair and tattoos next to a reclining chair working at a screen. She gets up and picks up a serum vial. "Sit" she says dismissively . I do as she tells me to." Hi-" she looks into a list kept on a small table next to the reclined chair "-Tobias …My name is Tori "I manage a nod. "I'll be taking your aptitude test". I nod again. "Please drink the serum" she points to the blue liquid in the vial . I drink it without hesitation. After five seconds of drinking the Serum she attaches a visor to my forehead and the other end of it to her own forehead.

After that I zone out and all around me I see thousands of my reflections. Besides me appears a table with two wide dishes. In one is a piece of cheese, in the other one is a dagger. But I knew what to expect. Thanks to Marcus. I pick the cheese up and as soon as I do the table disappears. I think in my mind 'Now is the time for the dog'. A dog sprints towards me baring his fangs, panting . I offer him the cheese and he calms down.

Suddenly I hear a girl exclaim "Doggie".

The attention of the beast shifts from the cheese to the girl and it lopes towards her. I, without thinking, throw myself onto it and for a second everything blacks out .

The next I open my eyes I find Tori looking at me and then I taste the tang of blood and realize I had been biting the inside of my lip throughout.

Tori asks me suspiciously "Were you aware that the simulation was not real?".

I know the answer " No-" I add to it "-I wouldn't be biting through my lip otherwise".

"Are you sure?" she asks.

"Yes" I say as if stating the obvious.

"Okay then… So, Tobias your result is Abnegation."

I manage a fake smile.

I get up to leave when Tori says "You know you can always choose another faction..."

I stare at her , perplexed.

" I mean you don't have to go with the results , you know. You have the right to choose to which faction you want to belong to."

I nod and look her in the eye. For the first time since my mother's death I don't feel afraid to look someone in the eye. She doesn't seem to scare me as Marcus does.

" All I want to say is -do what you think is best for you".

"Sure" I manage a smile and open the door to leave.

I get out of the cafeteria avoiding people's gaze. I walk down the corridor and down the staircase . As soon as I get out of the school I walk to the bus stop but the bus is not here yet.

I feel so guilty of knowing the answers to my test beforehand . Marcus has given me the key to abnegation. If I use this key the way he wants me to I'll be locked in my room forever . It's the key to my imprisonment , the key to my misery. I sprint towards home to stop myself from breaking down .

I sprint untill my muscles get sore, running so fast I hear wind whistling in my ears. Finally I stop when my body can take no more .

I drop to my knees and pant , breathing heavily. I look around and find out that I am in the factionless sector and in the distance I see the Abnegation houses, all gray and monotonous .

I look to my right and look into the grimy window of a small building. It's a mere thing to notice but I see a couple of coals lit inside the building. Out of curiosity I walk towards the window from where I can see the lit coals. I squeeze myself through the window and notice a lone girl sitting besides the fireplace.

I can now clearly see the small tin vessel in which I guess something is cooking , the smell of which makes my mouth water .It smells better than the dust and paste Abnegation food. I look closer. She is blonde and wears tattered clothes, seeing which one can easily make out that she is factionless. She looks small and is young, probably around twelve years old.

Not wanting to attract any attention towards myself or trouble the girl, I step back, only to hear a loud clanging noise which I have caused by stumbling on an old tin box which probably contained oil.

The little girl rushes out to see what happened and her eyes widen as she looks at me.

"Hey!" I hear a voice exclaim behind me. I turn around to see the source of the voice. Its a girl of around my age. I look at her . She is wearing the same kind of tattered clothes, a t-shirt of Amity , Abnegation trousers with patches of blue Erudite fabric. On top of her T-shirt she is wearing a leather jacket that I cannot relate with any faction. Maybe Dauntless. No it's different. She holds a garbage bag and the way she hides it behind herself it doesn't seem it has garbage in it.

"What are you doing here, Stiff?" She snaps,"Come here to steal some food?"she says sarcastically. She is technically mocking the entire Abnegation system of helping the factionless. She could actually be pretty but with her black , tangled hair and olive skin and tattered clothes she looks no better than any other factionless.

"No, I just-" I am about to say something right when she interrupts .I suddenly notice a knife glinting at her hip.

She stares at me with a predatory look.

I begin to feel very uncomfortable.

"Oh shut up and get lost if you want to escape with your pretty face unscathed".

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_**Authoresses Notes**:- Thank you for reading and reviewing! We hope that you liked our humble offering :)_

_Next chapter, the identities of the Factionless girls are revealed. Any guesses on who they are? ;)_

_Also, a little **poll** for you-_

_Which **pairing** would you like to see in this story? (Slash is welcome) .Drop in a **review** and tell us ;)_

_Keep on reading and reviewing -your reviews inspire us to write faster!_

_There are two of us working on this story on an alternating chapter basis, so the chapters can get out pretty fast. As fast as tomorrow. Just saying. *Innocent Face*_

_Now go click on the review button !_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N**: Things will start to pick up pace from here. _

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**Katniss P.O.V**

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I am almost back at the factionless safe house that I call home. It is just a short distance away from the Abnegation quarters.

The road is littered with various detritus which no one has bothered to clean up. The condition of the factionless sector has been this way ever since I came here,four years ago.

Back when I lived in Amity,I just took the condition of the factionless sector as granted. I barely even viewed its residents as human. But now,the factionless are my faction,and a better faction that I could have ever wished for.

Suddenly,I hear a loud clanging noise from just outside our building.

My chest contracts.

Prim.

She's probably alone. Our mother must be at headquarters,and Finnick and Annie are out doing god knows what.

I run the last few yards and turn onto the road which houses our building.

I see a Stiff,with dark hair who seems to have tripped on an oil can,which must have been the source of the noise.

I see Prim staring at him, a horrified expression on her face. I feel fiercely protective of her. She must have been so scared.

" Hey! " I yell at the Stiff,whose face is partially obscured by the shadows of the building. " What are you doing here,Stiff? Come to steal our food?"

He turns around quickly to look at me.

I've caught his attention now,and Prim looks relieved to see me.

He looks flushed and sweaty,like he has just run a lot.

" No I just..." He starts speaking ,but I cut him off. I don't want him around. He may have all good intentions at heart,but I don't trust him.

" Oh shut up and get lost if you want to escape with your pretty face unscathed " I hiss menacingly and put on my best 'Scary Factionless girl face'

His reaction is priceless.

His mouth drops open and he flounders,trying to formulate a reply.

He inhales deeply, to compose himself,and then looks at me squarely. I can finally see his face properly.

He has dark hair,buzzed short and deep set blue eyes with frowning eyebrows and a hooked nose.

I've seen that nose somewhere,but I can't exactly remember on whose face I've seen that nose.

" I'm sorry to bother you," he says,in a carefully controlled voice. " I was just on my way home.I'll go now. ",he says.

Something about the way he speaks makes something click inside me,and I realise who he resembles. The person who he looks like has the same nose and eyes,only brown instead of blue,and speaks in the same controlled voice,albeit with more confidence.

The Stiff standing before me is Tobias Eaton, son of Evelyn Eaton,leader of the Factionless.

I know his name because Evelyn asked us to keep an eye out for him.

The Stiff is just turning around to head back when I call him

" What's your name,Stiff?"

He turns around with trepidation ,as if he's unsure whether to stay and talk to the psycho Factionless girl or whether to simply bolt.

" Tobias," he says warily. " Tobias Eaton".

I see realization dawning in Prim's eyes. She has made the connection too.

I give her a look,telling her silently to be quiet and let me handle it.

"Evelyn Eaton's son?" I ask, pretending to be curious.

" Yes," he says brusquely ,but I can feel the underlying curiosity. "How do you know her?"

I remember that he believes that his mother is dead. I feel sorry for him.

" Oh," I say vaguely. "She gave me some soup once. Had a memorable face. "

He nods unsteadily." She's dead now," he says.

" I'm sorry," I reply before deciding to dig a little bit. I might as well have something to tell his mother.

"So how did you land up in this dump,Stiff?", I ask casually.

" I was on my way home," he says "I didn't feel like taking the bus,so I decided to run back home"

" And steal some of our food?", I ask, quirking up a brow." Or wait, were you checking out a building to live in? Are the selfless Abnegation finally moving in here so that us poor,deprived Factionless can live a life of ease?"

The Abnegation may be certainly treat us better than the other factions,who think that by not acknowledging us we would simply disappear off the face of the earth. If it were not for the Abnegation, we would have to resort to more desperate measures to obtain food.

" I'm sorry" he apologises again." I wasn't after food. In fact, here you go"

He holds out a little package containing a sandwich towards Prim. She accepts it with a shy smile and whispers " Thank you."

I want to tell Tobias that I don't want his pity,but Prim rarely has anything decent to eat,so I purse my lips and let her take it.

"I had my Aptitude test today," says Tobias turning towards me. " And I was... confused"

The Aptitude test was today. That catches me a little off guard and my thoughts immediately turn towards Gale. I wonder what he got.

And going by Tobias's attitude,I'm guessing his results were inconclusive. I feel bad for him.

At least over here,Divergence is out in the open and we can be who we are.

"So what did you get?" I ask him.

" Abnegation ," he replies,a little too quickly. " I should go. I've taken up too much of your time already. "

I wonder what his deal is. The expression on his face suggests that he would rather stay here than go home. Part of me wants to tell him about his mother,that she's still alive, but that would be going against her orders.

I have no clue what to tell him,but Prim apparently does.

"Don't worry," she tells him softly " you'll make the right choice. I know it might be difficult, but I'm sure you know, deep inside,what's right for you. Don't think about anyone else. It's your life, and your decision. "

For being only twelve, Prim is wise far beyond her years.

I look at Tobias, and Prim's words seem to have had a deep impact on him.

" Thank you," he whispers " I'll keep that in mind."

He turns to me with a half smile "And thank you for not maiming my pretty face"

And he turns around and goes.

I can't help but smile at that.

Once we enter the building, Prim finally lets loose her avalanche of questions. We talk about Tobias and his suspected divergence for a while over some delicious stew that Prim cooked up.

"Stew's delicious, little duck" I compliment .

I hate that Prim has to do this. She could have had a normal life in Amity,if not for our mother.I have never been able to forgive my mother for what she did after my father's death. She should have been there for us,instead of going off and killing that man.

" So what did you get today, Katniss?" asks Prim, pulling my attention away from my thoughts.

I hand the garbage bag over to her. It doesn't contain garbage, obviously,but it contains something else.

" Apples." Says Prim in obvious delight.

I pinched the apples from the Amity orchards. Even though the Abnegation do feed us,the food we get is far from enough. A few of us frequent the Amity orchards and granaries to pilfer food. Even though it's wrong,it's the only way for us to survive.

I am ideal for raiding the Amity orchards,due to my existing knowledge of the faction and my small frame. Back when I lived with the Amity,Gale and I always clambered up the highest branches to pick the fruits. The adults were too heavy and most of them were to scared anyway. It hurts to think of Gale. I haven't talked to him since I left,even though I once caught a glimpse of him brooding in our meadow. It hurt so much to see him that now I always go foraging when I am certain that he won't be there. That's why I went today morning,because I knew he would be at school.

The factionless do only the most menial jobs requiring mainly physical labour, so they don't bother if we are literate or not.

"Katniss!" says Prim,waving a hand in front of my face. " Were you listening to me or not?"

"Sorry," I reply " what were you saying?"

" I said," she replies with an exaggerated sniff " it's a pity we can't keep them all"

That's true. A majority of the apples will go to headquarters,some to feed the others and some will be stored. But I don't mind,really. We all share in everything here. It's a lot like Amity ,in some ways.

"Ugh, that reminds me. I have to go to headquarters. Apparently Evelyn wants to talk to me and I need to tell her about her son anyway. You coming little duck?" I enquire, and Prim replies in the affirmative.

I wouldn't have let her alone anyway,in case some more inquisitive stiffs came prying.

It's a relatively short walk to headquarters,and I am greeted by Greasy Sae,our chief cook. She's a culinary genius and can make even stale and tough meat taste good.

" Evelyn's waiting for you. You better run along. " she says.

I nod my head,and make my way to her room,while Prim rushes off to find our mother.

Most of the factionless stay in safe houses like this one. We all share resources,because otherwise we would never survive.

I walk down the dimly lit narrow corridor that leads to Evelyn's room. I knock softly as I reach the door.

" Come in. " says Evelyn

I walk inside to see that she is sitting at her desk,having a heated discussion with Therese.

" One moment" she says tersely.

I sit down on the floor and look at the other occupants of the room.

Finnick is lazily lying down on the floor, humming a song. And Haymitch is sitting on a tattered sofa,talking quietly with a man wearing blue Erudite clothes whom I have never seen before.

" Hello sweetheart," says Haymitch lazily, breaking away from his conversation. "Stole anything good today?"

" Apples," I reply. " nothing special".

" Too bad," says Finnick. " I wanted sugar cubes"

Finnick has this weird fetish for sugar cubes. He simply adores them,and keeps begging us to get them.

" I'm sorry,Finnick" I say,straight faced. "next time I'll walk into the Amity kitchen and ask for sugar cubes."

" I would like that very much," he says with a smirk, playing along " How about you ask for some coffee too?"

" I like coffee too," says the man that was talking to Haymitch. He has a heavy built, but I cannot discern any of his other features due to the poor lighting. " I did not realise that shifting to your little rebel camp would mean foregoing coffee"

" Trust me Plutarch, coffee will seem like a small sacrifice once we are through with the Erudite. " snaps Evelyn. " You will not regret your decision of joining us."

" I better hope so," drawls Plutarch. " I better not suffer for nothing. "

Evelyn shakes her head and focuses her attention upon me.

"Ah. Katniss. " she says. "Exactly the person I wanted to you have anything to report before we get down to business?"

"Well," I say,wondering how to bring up the topic of her son. " I have some news. It's about your son"

Her reaction is immediate.

"Out. Everyone." She snaps in a no nonsense tone.

Therese is the first to get up and march off briskly.

Finnick leisurely drags himself up from the carpet and saunters off. " Later,people." he says,blowing a kiss.

Haymitch too shakes his head and walks out but Plutarch remains where he is.

" I thought I told you to leave," snaps Evelyn with barely disguised impatience in her voice. "So leave. Now. "

Plutarch gives her a dirty look "I didn't leave a life of ease to be treated like a lowly servant," he says,and storms out of the room, slamming the door on his way out.

It's just the two of us in the room now, and Evelyn stares at me with such intensity as if she is trying to extract all the information that she needs by doing so.

I bite the inside my mouth,putting my thoughts in order and wondering how to start.

"Well," I begin hesitantly," as you know I was out in the Amity orchards today,and on when I had almost reached home there was this noise. When I rushed to investigate I saw this boy...-"

I continue to tell the story the best I can ,trying not to omit any details.

Evelyn listens to me with great attention,not even interrupting a single time. By the time I'm done,her brown eyes are glistening with tears.

" Did he mention anything about this father?", she asks, wiping her tears and a businesslike expression on her face.

" No" I reply

I remember that Marcus is the reason why Evelyn chose to leave Abnegation.

She says that she left on her own volition,but rumour has it that she was chucked out forcibly.

I don't know which version to believe.

Evelyn nods to herself,as if she has forgotten that I am the room.

"I'm sure he'll try his best to keep him where he is" she murmurs "Will he leave on his own or not?"

I wonder what she means by that. Before she can say anything else,I clear my throat loudly so as to remind her of my presence.

" Oh. Katniss. " she says,jerking back into reality.

"I think it's time we finally put you to good use."she is pretty much back to her serious mood now.

A chill runs down my back and my palms start to sweat.

"As you know," she tells me " Our goal is to destroy the faction system. The biggest obstacle that we are currently facing are the Erudite,who refuse to accept Divergence and are doing everything in their power to decimate the Divergent population. We already have spies and allies placed in numerous factions to safeguard the Divergent. One of our informants in the Abnegation sector has told us about an _invaluable tape_ which is in possession of the Abnegation which will be of great help to our cause. However, it is evident that we are not the only ones with informants. The Erudite have also been alerted about the existence of this tape. Our spies in Erudite have confirmed that Jeanine Matthews is going to do everything possible to get her hands on the tape and destroy it. Are you understanding so far?"

I nod," But where do I fit in?" I enquire,dreading the answer,knowing that I won't like it. My mouth feels dry,and it is difficult to get the words out.

"The Erudite seek to gain control of the Government. However,simply brains will not help their cause. They seek manpower,an army if you will. And do you know which faction they will seek out for their manpower?"

"Dauntless." I reply.

It's the logical answer,unless you think of the factionless,which they obviously won't.

"Exactly. " she replies "Each year, a few chosen Erudite are sent over as Dauntless initiates as spies. They seek to recruit members for their cause, amongst other initiates especially the weaker ones. They buy their loyalty by helping the struggling eliminate competition,however the exact details are unclear. A lot of Dauntless leaders are double agents for the Erudite. That's where you come in. We need you to go in as an initiate and gather intel. At regular intervals of time,you will convey data to a trusted primary aim is to win the trust of the Erudite in the Dauntless initiation and find out how they seek to take over Abnegation. Any questions?"

Any questions? I feel like laughing hysterically. I could barely comprehend what she said after saying that I would have to leave my family and transfer to Dauntless. How can she be so casual about it? It's not like we are talking about a simple trip to steal something from the Dauntless compound. We are talking about an indefinite period of time that I will have to spend away from Prim.

" Can't someone else go in my place?" I ask foolishly,knowing the answer beforehand.

"Of course not."she says,"You are the only person suitable for this task. Your relative strength and intelligence should ensure that you pass the initiation and moreover you are of the perfect age as well"

" But I'm factionless, " I say, refusing to let the truth sink in. " I can't simply walk into the choosing ceremony and choose Dauntless!"

I am half screaming now, wishing that it was simply a bad dream.

"The necessary arrangements have been made," she states cooly. I want to punch her. "You will be called out as a resident of Amity. I presume that your knowledge of the faction you were an erstwhile resident of is sufficient for you to enact the part?"

I nod dumbly yet again,realising that there is no way out of this.

"Very well. Haymitch and Finnick will tell you all that you need to know. You may leave now. "

I silently walk out of the room,my hands clenched at my side, avoiding eye contact with Evelyn because I know I will be tempted to throttle her if I look at her calm,uncaring face.

She has me trapped. If I refuse,I will undoubtedly kicked out of the factionless.

Who could have thought that one could sink lower than the factionless? The thought of it makes me giggle again,and this unnatural giggling coupled with an underlying numbness reminds me of the effects of the peace serum,which brings back memories of all the times Gale and I got sent to the conflict room.

Gale.

I will be seeing him tomorrow. And he will see me, after so many years. It seems so very unreal.

I realise,coming out of my haze,that I have reached Haymitch and Finnick.

I understand why both of them are here.

Both Divergents are former Erudite,who left disgusted because of the ways of their former faction.

Finnick looks at me sympathetically. With is tan skin,bronze hair and sea green eyes,he looks like a male god even under the harsh lighting.

He has... relations with several high ranking females in Erudite, from whom he gets valuable information from. Very valuable.

However his heart belongs to Annie Cresta, a girl who was his fellow initiate.

During initiation,there was an accident that happened while Annie was performing an experiment,leaving her mentally unstable.

After that catastrophe,instead of treating her or even abandoning her a Factionless,they started using her as a lab rat for all sorts of horrible inhumane experiments. As if she was no longer human.

Finnick left in disgust,getting Annie with him.

Since then he is out to seeking revenge from the Erudite at any cost.

I don't know about Haymitch.

All I know is that he spends most of his time inebriated,trying to escape the memories.

They lecture me for a long time, telling me about the various stages of initiation-physical, mental and emotional.

I'm sure I will survive the physical stage,but mental and emotional seem a little worrying.

"You'll be at an advantage though," Finnick tells me. " You're Divergent, so the mental stage should be easier for you than most. "

This makes me feel a little better,but I still cannot shake off that uneasy feeling.

They go on to tell me about the two informants that the Factionless have in the Dauntless sector.

Much of what they say washes over my head. It still feels like a dream.

When they are done ,Haymitch tells me "Remember Katniss. No matter what happens, remember that they cannot find out that you are Divergent."

"Yeah," says Finnick "We'd miss having you around. Imagine having no one to scowl at you all day long?"

I scowl,and he laughs.

"Be careful,Katniss", he says seriously and hugs me.

I feel my tears behind my eyes and blink fiercely. Finnick has been like an annoying brother ever since I have come here,and Haymitch has been like an uncle.

When I finally leave and go to the common living room, and Prim rushes up to me with red- rimmed eyes,I immediately know that someone has told her.

She clings to me and breaks out sobbing,and as I hug her back and stroke her blonde hair,it takes all of my self control to not break down and start sobbing along with her.

I finally manage to calm her down enough so that we can walk back home.

My mother is waiting for us once we get back. Due to her previous experience as a nurse,she works as a doctor. She was out all last night looking after a child with the mumps.

When I give her the news, her face pales,but she doesn't cry. She simply nods,and pulls me into a hug. I let her hug me,and we simply stand that way for a long time.

" I love you." She whispers.

"You have to stay strong," I whisper,so that Prim,who is making dinner cannot overhear. "For Prim. "

She swallows and gives a barely discernible nod. " I will Katniss. But nothing is going to happen. You'll come back to us."

I hope so.

After a while, Finnick and Annie come back.

Like us, they prefer to stay away from the relative bedlam of headquarters.

The headquarters are safer,but this way we have privacy.

Dinner is a quiet affair. Everyone eats in silence,and I notice that Haymitch is quiet one stays up for mother has to go to treat a patient.

Finnick and Annie stay around to clear up,but after that they too retire to their room.

When I go to sleep,Prim crawls in next to me and soon fall fast asleep.

I stay awake,lost in my thoughts. After leaving Amity, I never thought that I would ever take part in the choosing ceremony.

My thoughts go out to Gale,and even the Stiff. I wonder how they're feeling.

Eventually,my eyes become heavy and I fall asleep.

Next morning,when I get up,I feel that everything is normal for an instant. But right after,the events of the previous day come rushing back,and I somehow want to go back in time and erase yesterday from my existence.

My mother is already awake,and she has filled a tub with water for me so that I can bathe.

I sit and soak in the tub for a long time,just relaxing, letting the filth and grime wash off.

Finally,when the water turns cold ,I step out and dry myself.

Instead of my usual outfit which consists of clothes from all factions,I dress in a red blouse and a pleated red skirt.

The outfit feels alien to me now,after getting accustomed to wearing clothes from all factions for so long. I blankly stare at the jacket my father had given me, his jacket, which is hanging on a hook on the opposite wall.I wont be wearing it today or any other day from now onwards.

My mother is doing my hair as Finnick walks in. "Hey there,girl on fire"he jokes,obviously referring to my all red ensemble. " Almost didn't recognise you,you look so...so clean. "

I stick my tongue out at him.

Annie, who walked in after Finnick gives an enormous laugh.

I don't have much of an appetite,but I munch on one of the apples that I stole the day before on Prim's insistence.

Before I know it,it's time to leave. I am to take a train to the Choosing Ceremony,accompanied by one of Evelyn's minions , who looks positively freakish with his bright red hair, and red overalls.

It's time for goodbyes now, and I let a few tears escape as I kiss Prim goodbye.

" Come back soon," she whispers, hugging me hard,equally teary eyed.

My mother hugs me briefly,and Haymitch tells me to go and get 'em.

Finnick gives me a smile and wishes me luck,and Annie tells me that I 'look pretty'.

" I'll be back before you know it little duck", I tell Prim, giving her one last hug.

The train is surprisingly empty. Evelyn's Minion tells me it's because the Dauntless don't care for punctuality, and apart from us,they're the only ones who use the train.

Finally,we arrive,and I am almost shocked by how little attention anyone pays us.

I had half expected for them to know that we were coming and arrest us on the spot,but of course,that's ridiculous.

We reach the Hub.A few of the Amity greet us cheerfully,and I remember,almost too late, that I am supposed to be one of them,and respond with equal enthusiasm.

We take our places at the back,and I let my eyes wander.

The sea of black to my right is about to be my new home.

To my left,I see the Erudite, and I wonder which among their number is the spy I have to befriend.

All too soon,I see an Erudite leader coming up on stage and starting a dull speech.

I feel insanely nervous. The half apple that I choked down in the morning is trying to make a re-appearance.

The room itself feels blurry at the edges and my heart is beating as rapidly as a mouse's.

Right now,I am Katniss Everdeen, a non- entity from the factionless.

When this ceremony is over,I will be Katniss Everdeen,Dauntless initiate and Factionless spy.

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_**Authoresses notes:** Thank you for reading and reviewing!We have a special guest to make an announcement!_

_**Caesar Flickerman**: Thank you,Ladies. Bonjour, pre- apocalyptic world!I hope you are all enjoying this little fic! If you do, then be sure to tell the authors by pressing the **review **button! We all know,reviews make authors work faster and better!_

_Also,the **pairing polls** are open till the next chapter!Go vote,you wouldn't want your poor characters to remain single and unhappy,would you? _


	4. Chapter 4 Part I

**A/N: **_This chapter will be split into multiple parts,which will be individually posted. As a result,the chapters will be shorter than usual. Behold chapter 4.1! And yes,over 200 views! Thank you for reading and reviewing!_

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**Gale P. O.V. **

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I wake up panting, realising it was just a nightmare.

I sit up on my bed, cross-legged, and close my eyes. The images from the aptitude test flash in front of my eyes – the Abnegation woman , the blue colored serum, the giant Alsatian baring its fangs and bolting towards me .

I see myself stabbing the beast with a knife and its blood pouring all over the floor . I see multiple images of the scene.

The sound of the voice of the Stiff echoing in my ears

"Your result is -Dauntless".

I open my eyes. I can feel my sweaty palms and wipe them on the bed sheet. "Dauntless" I whisper to myself . I will have to choose a faction tomorrow which, according to this, is going to be Dauntless.

I want to erase the thought out of my head but it's hard. I think of Katniss , which I do every sleepless night. I wonder what she would say, how she would react to it.

The thought of Katniss and the moments we had spent together help me to drift off to sleep.

I wake up in the morning and it is not my mother who wakes me up. It's Rory. He is all dressed up in his Amity red and yellows and is practically jumping and shouting to wake me up. I smile dreamily at him, for a second forgetting about the ceremony, and throw a pillow at him. He catches it and giggles .

"Gale . Big brother. You better get up soon, it's a big day for you"

I get out of the bed and tousle Rory's hair at which he pouts " I just combed them "

I smile at him and hug him tight. If I choose Dauntless today I'll miss Rory the most. He is my best friend , after Katniss.

After a small, probably the last chit-chat session with Rory, I go to the bathroom and take a quick shower.

I avoid meeting my mother before the ceremony because that would only make it harder to leave. Probably the same thing is going on in my mother's head as she avoids my gaze too.

We all , mom, Rory and Posy and I , walk to the bus stop and catch a bus to the hub . It is cramped with people , there is no space for any of us to sit.

Posy , who my mom is carrying, carries her favorite doll –Lilly . "Lilly will miss you the most".I am stunned and I try to analyse what she just said. How has she assumed that I was going to leave them? I hold back a sob and force out the words "She won't have to".

At this Posy grins and goes back to fiddling with Lilly's button eyes.

We reach the hub and are carried inside the hallway by the human flood. We take the stairs instead of the elevator as it is just too crowded.

We reach the main room and my mom kisses me on the forehead without uttering a single word. I feel good, protected too, somehow . Then she manages a few words "Gale . Honey. No matter what, I'll always love you "

" I love you too, mom"

She nods in silence. I appreciate the fact that Amity can show affection in public otherwise I would have been shattered. You won't expect stiffs doing something like that.

Posy gives me a tight hug and Rory and I perform our special fist pump. They then quietly move at the back with other Amity parents.

I am made to stand with other 16 year olds. We stand in alphabetical order of our last names. The A's will be called first,then the B's and so on till we reach the Z's

I see my family at the back looking at me and smiling.

The ceremony starts with a speech on why the factions were made and that we are free to choose any faction, regardless of our result. And I do not pay heed to the rest of the speech . It's just that I am too tensed to listen to it. All I hear is when in the end the man giving the speech explains the procedure to us .

We will have to make a small cut through our palm and let the blood drip into the bowl representing the faction we wish to choose.

The moment they call up the first name , my hands go numb. Do I choose Dauntless and leave my family ? Do stay back in Amity and spend the rest of my life on a serum support system?

It seems as if only second have passed when a third of us have chosen our new factions. Most of them have chosen to stick to their old factions but it would be wrong to say that all of them have. Most of the Amity people prefer to stay in Amity only and by far no one has changed. Why would they, anyway ? I do not pay any attention to the ones going up and choosing until I hear a name .

Her name.

Katniss Everdeen.

It's her. I look up and see her coming towards the bowls . She is wearing Amity clothes and looks beautiful and brave. Living factionless for four years has made her look older than her age. Tears start to form in my eyes, I want to shout her name out and hug her , ask her a million questions.

But wait a minute. What is she doing here anyway, she's factionless and she can't choose or even attend the ceremony. Why is she wearing Amity clothes? So many questions may remain unanswered forever.

I wince as she cuts through her palm. I stare at her palm as she pushes it forward letting her blood drip in the Dauntless bowel.

Before I know it,my name is called. I freeze, turning into a statue.

I try to avoid meeting my mother's eyes as I walk towards the center. A knife is offered to me and with shaky hands I pick it up. I stare at the knife and then at the bowl representing Dauntless faction. My gaze shifts to the Amity bowl and then again to Dauntless.I look to my family,and then to Katniss. She knows I'm looking at her,but she averts her eyes for some reason. I cut through the edge of my left palm and let the blood drip on the white tiled floor .Then without opening my eyes I put my hand forward above the Dauntless bowl. I have chosen my new faction. I have decided to leave my family forever.

As I walk back I take a quick glance at my family. My mother, for some reason doesn't look stunned. Rory and Posy look sad but not surprised. Maybe from my behavior it was obvious that I was not going to last long in Amity.

I walk into the crowd of cheering Dauntless. They are the only faction making noise and clapping and hooting whenever someone chooses their faction.

Now, i just know one thing. Katniss and I are both going to be in the same faction.

* * *

_**Peeta**__: Hey guys,the Authoresses are busy,so I'm going to be talking to you. So yeah,if you liked it,review,follow,favourite,blah blah( they made me say that) I know you people have probably had your fill of boring old Gale. Who does he think he is anyway,all tall and muscly. We all know who's better looking. __**ME**__. And speaking of me, I'll be narrating the next chapter. Isn't that amazing? Don't drool girls. My heart belongs to Katniss. So yeah,if you're excited to see me,review. The Authoresses say if they get reviews, the next chapter (which has __already been written__!) will be out tomorrow! So __**start reviewing**__! I'll go get ready for my big reveal. _


	5. Chapter 4 Part II

_**A/N**: We were planning to not post this chapter till we got reviews. But poor Peeta had already re-done his make-up thrice,so we decided to give the poor fellow a break and post this one. But we won't give in so easily next time! Also,the fact that we've got 300 views might have given us a little nudge. _

* * *

_Peeta P.O.V._

* * *

I am sitting next to the other sixteen year old Abnegation members dressed in gray, barely able to believe my ears as the representative from Erudite calls out her name in a loud, clear voice.

"Katniss Everdeen. "

For a second I think that I have misheard her,but then she gets up,from amidst a sea of red and yellow,with her dark hair braided in an elaborate hairdo instead of her usual long braid and stormy grey eyes.

It's her.

Katniss.

I get butterflies in my stomach, just by looking at her.

She looks strong and fierce and beautiful as she steps up on the platform,looking as if she utterly belongs here.

But she doesn't belong here,in her red blouse and skirt,which make her look like she is younger than she belongs with the factionless, in her tattered multi-colored clothes and leather jacket.

I don't understand how she's here,the Factionless aren't allowed to take part in the choosing ceremony. It doesn't make any sense.

I look around in bewilderment,expecting there to be a lot of commotion upon seeing a factionless girl just walking up and choosing a faction,but there's nothing out of the ordinary. I look around,but everyone just watches politely. I chastise myself- she is just a mere girl, and hardly anyone would know her. Of course no one would notice...

Except one boy.

He looks around my age,tall and muscled.I assume he normally looks very handsome,but right now he looks like he's seen a ghost.

He stares at the girl the way,well,probably the way I'm staring at her, like she's the most perfect being in the universe.I feel a little jealous for a moment, but then I turn my attention back to Katniss.I get this fluttery feeling in my chest, just by looking at her.

She stands there before the bowls, the hand holding the knife hovering above her outstretched palm.

Her gray eyes survey the bowls, lingering over the bowl containing the earth for Amity and the water for Erudite, which has already been tinged pink by blood.

Then,after the briefest moment of hesitation, she brings down the knife on her palm and jerks her hand over the Dauntless bowl containing the glowing coals.

Slowly, almost in slow motion, a single drop of crimson blood rolls down her palm and falls into the bowl. Almost instantaneously, the Dauntless crowd breaks into a deafening cheer, and she walks down steadily to her new faction, who welcome her with open arms.

The expression on her face is outwardly devoid of emotions- if you didn't know her well you would have almost thought that she was bored.

But I have watched her long enough too recognize know that this expression means that she is holding back tears.

I remember that expression very well. After all,it was the expression on the face when I first saw her.I remember the day like it was yesterday.

It was pouring like it was the end of the world. I was walking back with my mother after feeding the Factionless when I saw her huddled in the corner of the street.

She was thin and starving,her tattered yellow blouse and over large leather jacket hanging loosely off her emaciated frame. She lifted her head weakly as we passed by,her dripping wet hair plastered to her gaunt face with the same expression on her face that she has right now. Struggling to be emotionless,but barely holding back tears.

"Let's go Peeta" said my mother contemptuously. "She isn't worth anything. Better she dies now than survive to feed off us for the rest her life."

My mother and I were just returning after distributing bread to the Factionless. Both of us were wet and soaked tho the bone. We were retuning empty handed,at least in theory.

In reality there were still two loaves of bread in the basket,covered by a plastic sheet to keep them dry that my mother had insisted on us keeping for dinner.

"They never let us have anything for ourselves" she would complain at dinner everyday, prepared courtesy of my father,my brothers or myself. She was above such petty jobs.

"Might as well keep all the food- what's the point of feeding those ungrateful people? They're nothing but a burden."

We would simply nod.

My father isn't like that, he truly is selfless.

He does everything to keep my mother happy, providing her with forbidden luxuries to keep her highness entertained.

My mother is the opposite of all that Abnegation stands for. She is the epitome of selfishness.

But back to the story at hand.

I wanted to give her the bread. I moved towards her surreptitiously to do so,but my mother immediately caught on.

"Peeta Mellark, don't you dare," she said menacingly,grabbing hold of my arm.

I looked at the girl, who's eyes,the same stormy grey as the clouds above us, were alight with barely concealed hope.

I had to give her the bread.

I pretended to trip over a non existent stone, accidentally dropping the bread.

The instant the bread hit soggy ground with a splashing sound, I felt a stinging blow across my face.

"How dare you, you worthless piece of scum!" my mother shrieked, spittle spraying across my wet face,mixing with the raindrops that were already there.

"Now it's worthless, you clumsy boy! I might as well leave you here with the wench for all you are worth!"

But she dragged me away anyway, and through the rain,I had just enough time to see the girl scurry forward,splashing through the puddles in the road to grab the damp bread as if some one would come to take it away from her.

She saw me looking at her, and gave me the most dazzling smile I've ever seen.

And just like that, my heart belonged to her.

I didn't even care when my mother sent me to bed,still in my damp clothes without food made me scrub out the house the next day.

Ever since that day,I've spent a lot of time volunteering with the Factionless trying to gather up the courage to talk to her.

I've learnt a lot about her. I see her talking to her sister affectionately,and doing odd jobs that the factionless are supposed to do . I see her silently come back from the Amity orchards with stolen food in her sack. I've seen her singing when she thought no one was listening. Her voice is amazing, rich and smooth,and listening to her sing makes you forget everything.

She rarely ever notices me. And when she does,her eyes flit over me,as if I am just part of the background,a silent shadow.

I would always leave a basket full of food for her, thinking that it went unnoticed by her,that maybe she didn't remember who I was.

But then I started getting the baskets back, and every time the basket would have a dandelion in it.

I don't know why she chose that flower,but this simple gesture speaks volumes to me.

I am interrupted from my thoughts by the blusterous , ear popping cheers of the Dauntless. I look towards the center of the hall to find that the olive skinned boy who I had noticed earlier is the cause of all the noise. He has chosen Dauntless.

Dauntless seems to have picked up quite a few initiates this year. I see Tobias Eaton, the son of one of our faction leaders. An Abnegation to Dauntless transfer. Almost unheard of. He looks pale and unsteady, and out of place in his gargantuan grey shirt. I also see him sneaking peeks at his father, who looks a little stunned and angry, and then at Katniss.

It seems she has had quite the impact on him.

I realise it is almost my turn to choose. My hands,which I realise I have unconsciously clenched into fists,are sweaty.

I think back to my results. Inconclusive.I had aptitude for Amity,Erudite and Abnegation.

Divergence is no big secret at home. My mother is one, and proud of makes sure to remind us of it every day, taunting us , telling us that she's better than us and that we'd better treat us well because of it. Everyone's heard of the rumors of Divergents outside our faction. I hear whispered rumors at school about them, or rather us, about how we have ' special powers'. My mother used those rumors to force us into subservience, telling us about the horrible things she would do to us if we disobeyed her.

_I_ certainly don't have any special powers, and nor does my mother,except maybe the Power of Eating Seemingly Impossible Quantities of Food,but we still listened to her,because of our father.

Truth be told, I have no clue which faction to pick.

My mother couldn't be happier if I transferred, she said so herself before I didn't even come to my choosing ceremony.

"There's no need to come back, boy" she'd cackled, admiring herself in the mirror(what was there,I wondered,to admire? She resembled a blonde cow) "more food for us if you leave!"

I'd simply turned around and left wordlessly.

Before I realise,I hear my name being called. My father gives me a reassuring look.

I step up shakily on to the platform and accept the knife offered to almost slips from my sweaty grip.

I stand before the bowls and heart is pounding and stomach feels jumpy. I might throw up. I consider the possibilities.

The Stone. A life in grey,trying to forget myself.

The earth. My brothers, who transferred to Amity a few years back, to escape our mother.

The glass and water hold no interest for me.I don't care particularly for honesty, and something about the Erudite unnerves me- they are too calculating for my liking.

I look at the coals, and I look at her.

She meets my gaze, staring back unflinchingly.

In the end, the choice is simple.

I cut my hand and let my blood drip into the bowl, and listen to my new faction erupt in cheers.

I choose Katniss.

* * *

_**Peeta**: So here you go! The authoresses told me that you guys weren't excited by my arrival,but I know better than that! You were so excited upon my arrival that you went into Fangirl/(boy?) shock! And also..._

_* sucker punched by Tris *_

_ OUCH!_

_* faints *_

_**Tris**: *Evil Grin * Well, girls and boys!I saved you from his ranting. And what do I get in return? A brief appearance in the next chapter. Thank you,Dystopian sisters! I save you from him,and you don't even give me a full chapter? Thanks a lot. _

_**Peeta**:Don't forget to R&R! Reviewers get virtual cookies that I made!_

_**Tris**:* face palm * Aaaargh!Who let you out of Panem? Hey,Peeta,wait up! I want one with the pink icing!_


	6. Chapter 5

_**Katniss P.O.V**_

* * *

I am Dauntless.

And so are Gale,Tobias and Peeta.

And all I can think,is _what have you gotten yourself into,Katniss?_

Just going up onto the platform to pick a faction was a nerve wracking experience.

I was half hoping that the moment I stepped on to the platform,someone would notice that I was actually Factionless,and they would send me back home and I could be back again at home with Prim and my mother and Finnick and Haymitch.

But of course not. Evelyn would have never let that happen.

I should have known that.

The past hour seems like a blur. Tobias choosing Dauntless. Evelyn's son. No doubt it will become my responsibility to ensure that nothing happens to him. Gale coming over and hugging me,whispering _'It's good to see you ,Catnip_' in my ear ,once he chose Dauntless. Peeta,the boy to whom _I owe my life_ giving me a shy smile.

And also the expressions of shock and surprise on each of their faces once they saw me.

You could virtually hear them thinking,' _How did she come here?_'How am I going to explain my mysterious reappearance to them?

I feel someone shaking my shoulder, bringing me back into reality. It's Tobias,who is looking at me concernedly. " It's time to go," he says "Ready?"

Of course not.

He doesn't ask about how I got here.

All the Dauntless are getting up,and there is much rustling and whooping as my new faction gets up and makes its way down the stairs.

I turn back and take one last look at the hall before descending .From the corner of my eye I see Evelyn's minion giving me a brief nod before getting up and mingling with the crowd. I see Gale's entire family,looking morose.I can barely recognize Posy and Rory,there're so grown up now.

I try to stay in between the Dauntless born initiates, hoping that my short height will keep me from getting noticed.

I grimace as someone stomps on my foot.I turn around to see who did it.

It's a blonde girl about the same height as me. " Sorry Red" she says unapologetically.

I'm in no mood for this crap.

"I'm sorry too," I say, and I stomp back her foot hard.

I immediately curse myself internally. I'm suppose to be acting weak.

But the blonde girl smiles. "Tris," she says,with a grin extending a hand towards me. "I see why you transferred here. Not exactly the friendliest person,are you?"

I grin back at her. I can't help it, she reminds me of myself.

As I reach the foot of the staircase,I think '_Maybe it's not going to be that bad after all.'_

And then Gale corners me.

" Katniss! " he says,enveloping me in a hug."Where were you?" he whispers in my ear " I'm so glad to see you. "

"I'm glad to see you too," I whisper back. "But we can't be friends"

We can't be friends. It's sound so stupid,but it's too risky otherwise. If I get caught,I can't have him going down with me.

He looks at me confusedly.

"But Katniss,were in the same faction now! Don't you get it...?" His hopeful voice trails off,and he looks at me.

"I'm sorry" I say,my voice breaking at the end. "It's for your own good. "

Gale gives me a look. " You can't avoid talking to me Katniss. We're in the same faction now. "

"Oh but she can" interjects a voice. "Because if you don't leave her now ,you won't even make it to the Dauntless headquarters.

Gale turns around to face the girl. It's Tris,the girl whose foot I stomped. They have a sort of staring match for a few seconds,but Gale cannot help but cower under her glare. It's almost hilarious watching a tall guy like Gale shrink back from the glare of a person as tiny as Tris.

Eventually,he backs off.

"So what was that about,Red?" Asks Tris,interestedly. "A little lovers' spat?"

I sort of choke a little,wondering how she reached that conclusion. I realise that since both of us are wearing clothes from the same faction,it appears we both belong to Amity. She doesn't realise that we are finally reunited after so many years. Also,the way she suggests Gale and I have some sort of history between us... Well it makes me blush.

I curse myself inwardly ,my wayward thoughts. I cannot afford to think like that.

"Oooh,so there's definitely something there"she says blithely"Way to go,Red!" and I feel the heat rising in my cheeks,undoubtedly further reddening my appearance.

"It's Katniss,"I say.

"Oh whatever. Red suits you better,with all your constant blushing and those red clothes."

"I'll be in black soon" I reply.

"That you will," she says with a grin. "Only question is,for how long?"

We all reach the train tracks. Tris starts climbing naturally,as do all the other Dauntless born. Gale is all ready halfway up the pillar,climbing it with ease. It's not much different from climbing trees. I wait until the majority of the Dauntless born clamber up like monkeys. By the time I start climbing,it's only me and a few other transfers waiting.I survey them,the transfers are mainly from Candor but I notice that there are two Erudite, both boys,one with dark and greasy longish hair,wearing a blue waistcoat and jeans,and the other with shaggy blonde hair with blue eyes. And next to him is another boy,with curly blonde hair and blue eyes. Peeta.

Why are you here,I want to ask. Why are you here? You belong in Abnegation. What on this earth made you pick Dauntless of all Factions?

I can At least understand why Gale is here. It was always evident that he wasn't cut out for Amity,his trips to the conflict room were a constant reminder of that. And I'm certain that Gale can take care of himself.

But I'm not sure about Peeta.

I will have to betray a few people so that I gain the spy's trust. Peeta is not someone I can betray. After all how can you betray someone to whom you owe your life?

By now,Tobias and I are the only two people left.

I immediately place one foot on the bars protruding from the pillar that serve as handholds and footholds and start hoisting myself up. When I'm halfway through,I realise that Tobias is still at the base of the pillar,a look of abject terror on his face.

"What's wrong,Stiff? I yell. It's windy,and his ridiculously large untucked shirt is flapping like a tail behind him,the way Prim's shirt often behaves.

I feel sorry for him I wonder if he's having a panic attack,if he's regretting leaving Abnegation

he looks up at me,with a look of abject misery.

"I can't" he almost whispers. At this height,I can barely hear him.

Height. Of course,he's afraid of heights. No wonder. And he had to pick Dauntless.

"Come on Stiff!" I yell " You didn't come all this way to become factionless ,did you? Dauntless is no place for a coward. "

Hopefully if I rile him up enough, he will start climbing.

It works, and he tentatively grabs hold of one of the bars and starts pulling himself up.

I heave a sigh of relief,but then I hear a distinctly familiar clickety- clack sound in the background, the sound of wheels on a rail.

The train is here. Crap.

I quickly make my way up the last few feet and step onto the platform.

Tris is standing there looking almost worried.

"What took you so long?" She inquires "And where's the cutie who was next to you?The train is coming,you know. "

"He's coming up," I reply,and I peer downwards to check.

He looks a little unsteady and his shoulders are trembling,but he is surely and steadily getting up.

The train is getting closer and closer,and the people ahead of us have stared to leap in.

It's almost our turn,and Tobias still has at least five feet to go

"Hurry,you idiot!" I yell at him "do you want to miss the train?!"

Out of the corner of my eye,I notice Peeta and Gale bracing themselves to jump onto the train.

Tobias's hands finally reach the top of the platform.

I extend my arm to him,and together we pull him over the top.

"I made it," he says,in near disbelief.

"And now we better make it onto the train," I say grimly,breaking into a run,Tobias following me.

Gale and Peeta have already gotten in. Tris is running besides the door. She grips the rail with one arm,and fluidly pulls herself inside.

"Run, Red,run!" ,she yells over the noise of the train.

We are running a few inches behind the last compartment of the train. I push myself into a full sprint,and I find myself parallel to the door with just a few feet of platform left. I quickly jump into the empty compartment ,banging my elbow against the door.

Luckily, the Stiff is just behind me. I reach out and grab his arm,and he manages to get in,his hooked nose smashing into the side of the door just as the platform runs out. A few seconds later,and he would be factionless.

"Ouch"he says,rubbing his nose and sinking onto the floor.

"That was smooth," remarks a sarcastic voice,deep and male seemingly coming out of nowhere.

I jump,realising that we are not alone. A man,the source of the voice,steps out of the shadows. He has dark skin and an easy smile.

"Well,at least they got in,Amar"says another voice- it's a woman,judging by the feminine tone.

"Into the wrong compartment " replies the man- Amar wryly.

The woman steps out of the shadows."Finesse is for Erudite show offs." She replies ignoring Amar's remark. "And nice seeing you here,Stiff. I'm glad that you took my advice," she says , smirking at Tobias.

"You know her?!" I ask Tobias in disbelief.

"Yeah," he replies "Tori took my aptitude test ".

I nod,it is mostly the Abnegation who administer tests,but the rule says that you cannot conduct the test on a member of your own faction.

"What's your name,girl?"'she asks me. "I don't remember seeing you during the test."

Panic floods through me. If I can't even answer such simple questions,then I wonder how I can get top secret information.

"Oh," I say. "Well I- um, you see I was called in just after Tobias. That's why you don't remember seeing me" I give a stupid giggle,trying to act Amity. Maybe if I can act like Amity,they won't suspect me.

"Whatever,Tori" says Amar."Stop being so suspicious. "

Tori ignores Amar. Instead she narrows her eyes and peers at me suspiciously. "You didn't give me your name"

I pause for a second.

"You can think and tell us," speaks Amar kindly,covering up for my pause. "You can pick another name. But then you don't get to pick again. "

Finnick told me the same,but it feels wrong. I've had this name since I was in Amity,no matter where I've lived,I've always been Katniss. And my dad picked out this name for me.

"It's Katniss ," I say firmly.

"That's pretty name," he says.

"Thank you,"I reply with a stupid giggle.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," remarks Tori disgustedly. " so much sweetness doesn't settle very well with me"

I try to look upset but I'm secretly ecstatic,because this means that my acting is realistic . I don't understand Tori's bipolar behaviour though. She seemed friendly enough while talking to Tobias.

Tori gives me a final look and surveys me. I look away from her, and look out of the door of the train and look at the city spread out under me. The wind feels good across my face.

In the distance,I can see the factionless sector.

I wonder what Prim and my mother are doing. Hopefully they're all fine.

Tobias scoots over and sits next to me,and looks at my face for a few seconds,both of us silent.

"Thank you," he mutters. "For helping me up on the train. "

"No problem" I reply "couldn't have you becoming factionless so soon right? You have to get a taste of life living in another faction. You Stiffs don't have anything going for you"

"So is it bad,living like that,as a factionless?" He asks hesitantly.

I feel my body tense up. We're approaching dangerous territory. " Tobias.. " I murmur softly "About that day you saw me...forget it,okay? You never saw me"

"But I did see you," he replies lowly " you and your sister.. You're the ones who convinced me to leave Abnegation. I owe you. I promise I won't tell."

I sneak a look at Tori and Amar. They look absorbed in conversation. They're having some sort of debate on the merits of different types of guns.

"It's complicated", I reply with a sigh,"I can't just tell someone. It's not up to me. "

"I understand," he says with a little smile. "Complicated is my specialty. Consider our meeting forgotten. And also..I've got your back. "

"Thanks," I say. It's nice to have a friend,sort of. I'm sure I'm going to hear something from Evelyn soon somehow,what with her son being Dauntless and all.

"Come on,kids!" yells Amar. "Enough with the talking! It's jumping time!"

Sure enough,I look out and the Dauntless headquarters loom ahead of us. The black clothed kids from the first few carriages are hanging out of the doors,ready to jump.

I look at Tobias next to me. He seems a little pale,and I give him a reassuring squeeze on his hand.

He smiles back wanly.

I hear whooping sounds,and then I see that a few of the Dauntless born kids have made the jump,Tris among them. She appears to have landed on her feet,and is doing a sort of victory jig with a dark skinned boy.

I see Gale and Peeta have made it too, and Peeta is holding his sides and wincing while Gale seems unharmed and is beaming.

Before I know it, it's our turn to jump.

" Newbies first," says Amar with a faux bow.

I look at the gap between the train and the building. I've jumped more before.

I crouch, tensing my muscles,and jump.

I land easily on my feet,and I laugh.

Tobias lands next to me,in a graceless heap.

I pull him up, and he stands,brushing off gravel. " Let's not do this again," he moans weakly. " This is more excitement than I can handle."

I laugh,and Tris saunters over. "Hey! You guys made it!I was worried there for a moment,Stiff. I was worried we'd have to scrape some stiff pancake off the pavement later. "

Tobias gives her a look scary enough to make a grizzly bear cringe.

" Scary,Stiff,"she says with a laugh. "Got a scary name to go along with that look?"

"Call me Stiff for all I care," he says,but unless there's something wrong with my eyes,I notice a little blush.

She turns back to me. "I was with your friends on the train,you know," she says wiggling here eyebrows. "Absolutely yummy,both of them. Way to go girl!"

Before I can do anymore than blush,Amar climbs on to the ledge of the building. "The only way to get into the Dauntless compound from this rooftop is to jump off this ledge," Amar says with a grin. He pretends to teeter a little,and a few people gasp,thinking that he'll actually fall. At the last moment, he straightens himself.

"So most of you actually made it", he remarks " quite surprising. "

Wait_. Most?_ Didn't all of us make it?

I look around and I see Peeta consoling a hysterical Dauntelss girl,who's sobbing uncontrollably. "No. No. No. " is all she seems to be capable of choking out.

I can't bear to peer over the edge of the roof and see the body.

I'm being rather unobservant I wonder what else I've missed. I look at Gale,and he gives me a stony look,but then gives me and acknowledging half smile,as if to tell me he doesn't completely hate me.

"I told him not to bother you on the train," Tris whispers in my ear. "You're welcome. But I expect you to tell me what's going on soon,comprende?

I give her a little acquiescing nod, and turn my attention back to Amar.

"So who wants the honor of jumping first," he asks"Who amongst you is _Dauntless_ enough to jump?...Oh and yeah I would like it to be a see its a good way to show every one that you belong here"

"This is crazy," says a Candor girl in black and white. "Do you just expect us to jump into a pit like that?"

Amar looks at her "What's your name?" he snaps.

"Christina," she replies,meeting his eyes.

"Well _Christina_," he says menacingly, narrowing his eyes "I highly suggest that you keep your mouth shut unless you want to be the first to jump. "

The Dauntless born hiss and boo at her, but I don't see any of them volunteering to jump.

" Enough. " says Amar lazily. " Stop with the bickering. Who wants to jump first?"

Part of me wants to jump first. I know there's a net at the bottom,but I'm supposed to act weak so I keep my mouth shut. But Tris doesn't. Nor does Gale.

" I do." They both say in unison.

"Well both of you can't go first, can you?" So let's settle this the Dauntless way.

He pauses damatically,and I wonder what that is. Will he make them fight or something? I'm worried.

"Rock Paper Scissors!" he exclaims.

The Dauntless born whoop as Gale and Tris face off.

"This is ridiculous" mutters Tobias next to me. "Are they crazy?"

"Totally" I reply.

"You're gonna loose," says Tris with a grin.

They beat their fists against their palm thrice.

Gale pulls out rock.

But Tris has paper.

She pumps her fist in the air as the Dauntless cheer behind her.

"It's decided then",says Amar with a grin. "Ladies first. "

Tris climbs onto the ledge and jumps gracefully into the gaping hole in the middle of the floor. Gale goes next,and he's followed by the Erudite boy with the dark hair. I'm going to be keeping an eye on him.

Seeing them jump,the others start queuing up to jump.

Finally,it's only Tobias and I.

"You go first," I tell Tobias,gesturing towards the ledge.

He makes his way up to the ledge,and after hesitating for only a moment,he jumps.

And then it's my turn. I make my way up to the ledge,but before I can jump,Amar pulls me back. "Best of luck,Katniss,"he whispers in my ear. "Your acting leaves a lot to be desired. You've got to work harder to convince them that you're from Amity. "

_What?!_ I stare at Amar. He just winks at me,and gives me a shove.

As I fall off the ledge into the hole,screaming,what crosses through my head is that _Amar is a factionless spy. _

* * *

_**A/N**: Thanks for reading!Please review,it means a lot to us to get your views,positive or not- they help us to write faster and keep us inspired ,always. Also,you get virtual cookies. Scratch that,you get dauntless cake ;-)_

_Just in case anyone's confused,Tris is Dauntless born,and that's why she may seem a little OOC. Because she's never lived in Abnegation. Also,the Dauntless initates are going to be a little mix of the initiates in Tris's batch,Tobias's batch and a couple of everyone (I.E. Gale,Peeta,Katniss,Tobias and Tris) are all sixteen and yeah certainly alive as yet.__  
_

_If you have any questions or requests for this story,feel free to P.M us :)_

_and yeah sorry for being a bit late writing this chapter . We've both been quite busy.  
_


	7. Chapter 7

Gale POV

* * *

There was a net. Thank you,crazy dauntless people. For a second,as I was hurtling through the darkness while falling in the hole,I thought that I would hit the ground like the girl who couldn't make it off the train.

For a second ,the image of me,like a squashed pancake flashed before my eye. But before I could even shake the image away, I hit the net hard,all the air going out of my lungs at the impact.

Now safely on the ground,I return my attention to the new initiates who are jumping in rapid succession. I see that guy,Peeta Mellark,screaming and arms flailing,as he lands hard on the net. Majority of the new initiates have already jumped. Only Katniss is left. And that stupid stiff,Tobias. He obviously knows Katniss. The way they stick together,it seems as if they are old friends. And maybe more than friends... And even Peeta knows Katniss. Don't ask me how. And he obviously likes her too.

Apparently a lot of people like Katniss. And I would be lying if I said that I wasn't one of them.

"Welcome,Initiates," says a man with a booming voice and dark skin. He was the one who had helped us off the net,along with another man who looked a lot like Tori,with the same slanted angular eyes and dark hair.

"I see a lot of you made it here,surprisingly." ,he says,in a voice that is almost bored. "My name is Max,and I am one of the leaders of this faction. Welcome to Dauntless. " he surveys the initiates and gives a smirk. " Now let's see how many of you make it to the end of initiation. "

The crazy man who made Tris and I play Rock Paper Scissors for the honor of jumping first takes over from Max. " For those of you who don't know,my name is Amar," he says. "I'm your initiation instructor. I grew up here, and three years ago, I passed initiation with flying colors, which means I get to be in charge of the newcomers for as long as I want. Lucky you."

I see Katniss staring at Amar with a look of great fascination,as if he is a different species all together. I wonder what that's about.

"Usually,the Dauntless born and transfers are separated during the first stage of the initiation- that is,for the physical stage of the initiation. That's for your own safety- the Dauntless born would have probably beaten you to a pulp"- the Dauntless born leer menacingly and crack their knuckles at that-"and you would be out of the initiation at the very first stage itself"

"What do you mean,out at the first stage of initiation?" says a burly boy with light hair wearing Candor clothes.

"Well you surely didn't expect that all of you would remain here and become full members did you?" Amar asks sarcastically but his voice almost sounds sincere. "We can't have that,can we? By the time the initiation is over..." His voice trails off ominously "only half of you will be left. The rest will be factionless"

Amar's words hit me like blows from a hammer. Only half of us will be Dauntless. Will I be in that half?

Gasps of shock are echoing around the cavern. Katniss,I notice,is not taken aback by this- it's almost as if she knew this. Peeta and Tobias both look a little pale themselves- they aren't confident. The same goes for the other Transfers, all except a greasy haired Erudite boy,who I notice is staring with apparent fascination at Max.

This is not what I expected from Dauntless,needless to say.

"So anyway,now that you all know that you should have thought twice before choosing Dauntless," says Amar in a light voice- but somehow I think that this possibly insane man is serious about this- it's like he's concerned for our well being. -" it is time to tell you that we've decided to mix things up a little bit. The initiation consists of three stages-physical,as I have told you previously- but also mental and emotional. The physical stage is a test to see how brave you are from outside- but only the latter two stages tell us how strong you truly are, as they involve- to put it delicately- staring your own fears in the face."

Staring your fears in the face. Yeah, not scary at all.

"But as I said," continues Amar,"we will be mixing things up a little bit. The Dauntless leaders and I would like to see how knowing your fears before hand will affect your initiation process. So if you'll follow me- it's time to find out how Dauntless you really are. " he starts walking, and the initiates,who are clustered together in small groups and muttering unhappily break apart and start following him.

Tris bumps my shoulder as we start walking. We were sitting together in the Train,where she thoroughly interrogated about Katniss- were we together,how long had we been friends,why she wasn't talking to me and whether the Stiff who was clinging to Katniss was single or not.

I didn't quite know how to reply,as I obviously couldn't tell her 'Hey,actually it's quite a funny story,we were in the same faction,but then she became factionless and now I'm seeing her for the first time in years but she's acting funny' ,so I just told her it was complicated and we were just friends and as far as I knew Tobias Eaton was single.

And she gave me a disbelieving look and said "Right. You and Katniss don't like each other and I have six fingers and a pig that flies and a guy as hot as Tobias doesn't have a girlfriend."

And I said ' You think Katniss likes me?'

And she just laughed and patted my shoulder and went to talk to Peeta,but not before asking me to give Katniss a little room because 'she's obviously going through something and I think you should let her have some space to sort things out. '

"You in there?" Says Tris. I give a start as I break out of my trance.

"Yeah ," I mutter. " I was thinking. "

" Me too, " she replies. "about the Initiation. It's so unfair. "

I nod,and for the first time,I look up and take in the room- no,cavern that I am in. It's simply gigantic, and there are ledges running down the sides of the wall that function as steps. There are entrances to other rooms carved into the rock face at regular intervals. A little ways ahead,there's a chasm, through which a river runs ,quiet at first and then an uncontrollably turbulent. It's a magnificent sight,and I'm sure that my jaw drops open.

" Welcome to the Pit," says Tris noticing my rather late reaction. " Beautiful,isn't it?"

I look around once more,taking in the people with their hair dyed, faces pierced and bodies inked, running around freely,laughing and arguing and running up and down the ledges,unafraid and content. I doubt there is a conflict room here,or that everyone has to be friends all the time.

And I feel as if I could belong here.

I look back at Tris. " It's beautiful," I reply.

And in its own strange way,it really is.

We follow one of the rocky outcrops on the wall and climb upwards steadily till we are on the highest floor. We enter a large,dank room,which is poorly lit with fluorescent lights. The roof has cracks and the room in general is in disrepair. A part of the room has been partitioned by a glass wall. On the other side there are two chairs,one of them the padded kind with a headrest that I was seated in during my aptitude test,along with an ancient looking computer. Next to which is a row of menacing looking syringes which are filled with some sort of metallic looking fluid.

" This is the fear landscape room"proclaims Amar,spreading his arms.A fear landscape is a kind of simulation where you go through your worst fears. "

"How does it work?" enquires the greasy haired Erudite boy.

"Well,how about you find out?"asks Amar. It's not really a question,and the boy gets up and Amar leads him into the other side of the partition.

He sits down on the padded chair,and Amar injects him with some sort of serum, and sits down on the remaining chair in such a manner that our view of the screen is entirely obscured. At first it seems as if nothing is happening,but then his body starts trembling,and he's shaking his head wildly. His mouth is also open,and he's obviously screaming,but I can't hear anything. The glass must be soundproof.

I look around and all the other tributes seem horrified,and a majority of them look pale.

I look back to the boy- I think someone called him Eric- and now he's stiffened himself,arms stuck to his Sides and palms clenched,and he's taking deep breaths,almost as if he's forcing himself to calm down.

Finally his body seems to relax for and instant,but then it starts again. This time it gets over quicker,and it goes on and on,first the trembling ( he doesn't scream again),and then the deep breaths,and the relaxing of his limbs,till finally it doesn't start again.

Eric gets up shakily,and goes through a door into an adjacent room.

One by one,starting with the Dauntless born,all of them go trough the fear landscape. Tris takes the least amount of time amongst them,but a couple of initiates totally loose it - one of them tries to scratch the skin off her body,leaving angry red welts along her arms and face and another just sits and screams and sobs,his body shaking terribly. Both the times Amar does something,so that they calm down for a second,but then it starts again.

Now only the transfers are left. The first to go in is Peeta- his landscape isn't particularly eventful,except for one moment where he started thrashing wildly in his chair.

Next goes the Candor girl Christina. After her goes the other boy from Erudite,followed by few other Candors and another Amity girl, Mia. Finally it's only Katniss and the Stiff and I left in the room.

When Mia goes out in tears,Katniss gets up and goes into the room,without making eye contact with any of us.

It's awful,watching her go through her landscape. I want to get up and shake her awake and tell her that's it's not real once she starts crying,but I restrain my self. I watch her closely,and she's saying something,pleading,the same five words escaping her mouth desperately. Eventually ,I can make out what she's saying- she's practically begging by now,her voice a broken moan, by reading her lips-

_Please_. _Not Prim. Not Gale._

Her sisters name. And mine.

My heart breaks.

I can't bear this anymore. they're torturing her. I get up,meaning to stop the simulation however I can- I just want it to stop.

But by the time I reach the door, whatever she was seeing goes away,and her grey eyes open. She sees me looking at her,and something passes between us. I give her a smile,and she gives me a watery one in return.

And now it's my turn. I sit down in the chair,and Amar picks up one of the two remaining syringes.

"I'm gonna inject this into your neck," he says casually. "This serum contains micro transmitters that will enable me to see what you see via the computer screen. "

I gulp and nod. At least only the Stiff will see if I make a compete fool out of myself.

I feel a prickle of fear as he jabs the syringe just above my collar bone.

An instantaneous pain radiates through my neck.

"The serum will get to work in about a minute," says Amar. "Good luck"

I shut my eyes tightly and try to take deep relaxing breaths. I can feel the sweat trickling down my forehead. At first I feel that I'm sweating out of nervousness,but no. It's because of the heat. It gets warmer and warmer,and I can almost feel my skin blistering. I open my eyes and I find myself on a vast desert plain. The sky is an angry red ,and for miles and miles all I can see is sand. You can practically see the heat radiating off the ground. It's so hot and there's no wind. I'm roasting alive. My skin is the same red as the sky.

I open my mouth. My throat is parched and feels full of sand. "HELP! "I scream. "Somebody help me!"

But there's no one,there's no one to help me. I am going to be baked alive. If it gets any hotter I'm going to burst into flames.

I let out an inhumane scream and fall sobbing to the ground. The ground is even hotter.

Let it be,I think,giving into the heat. Let me die.

I take deep ragged breaths and close my eyes. Slowly but surely,the ground starts to get cooler. It's blissfully cool now,soothing my back. The texture also changes ,from the fine,dry sand to an almost squelchy mush. But it feels so good,I'm practically sinking through.

_I'm sinking_.

My eyes snap open,and I look around. I'm in a marsh. I'm in quicksand,and I'm sinking. I try to sit up,and alarmingly,my bottom goes under the surface. It's almost like some unseen force is pulling me under. I'm up to my chest in quicksand now. My breath is coming in sharp pants. Struggling only makes me sink faster. Like with the burning desert, I decide to give up. I exhale all the air from my lungs,and plunge my head under the surface. Let me die.

My lungs are burning for air,I can't breathe- until all of a sudden I can.

This time I open my eyes quickly, and I find myself standing upright in a grassy meadow. Every few feet,I can see funny spiky brown hills,and some sort of thing is going down the hill,bright red,and about the size of my palm. I look closer,and I hear a sort of funny clicking sound coming from it. Something in my brain clicks into place.

The clicking sound is pincers. It's a giant red ant. And the brown mountains are anthills.

I try to run,but I find myself surrounded. They're everywhere.

I'm trapped. As that ant makes it's way towards me,more and more ants come out of the anthills. I can't move. I'm paralyzed by fear as I watch the seething red mass approaches me. They start crawling up my body,and I try to brush them away. One of them clings to my finger with its pincers. I manage to shake it away,and I see it scurrying off in the distance,something fleshy between its pincers.

A feeling of dread surrounds me as I look at my hand. A chunk is missing from my pinky finger,and dark red blood is weeping from the wound. I let out a scream,and as if on cue all the ants dig their razor like pincers into me. It hurts so bad. All I can feel is pain,blinding pain. I know that struggling won't help. I close my eyes and wait,trying to block out the pain. I collapse at some point,I guess,and when I open my eyes I'm lying on cool marble tile. I quickly get onto my when I see the sight before ,I let out an angry yell. Before me ,strapped to metal chairs,clad in hospital gowns,are the four people in the world whom I love the most- my Mother,Rory,Posy and Katniss.

I immediately run to them,and I know the moment I reach them that something is wrong. Their hair is greasy and unkempt,their glassy eyes are sunken into their faces,and their mouths are open,tongues lolling out.

Who did this to them? Posy and Rory are just children! And Katniss ... I can't even bear to look at her.

All of a sudden,a voice emanates from the ceiling

"Pull the switch",says the cool female voice,the same voice that I heard in my aptitude test.

Out of the corner of my eye,I notice a switch,almost a lever,placed at the extreme end at the row of the chairs,right next to my mother. Extending from the switch are wires which in turn are connected to the end of each chair respectively. Next to the switch is a board,on which ,underneath a skull and crossbones sign is written '**Caution:20,000 volts**'

I put two and two together to arrive at a very unpleasant four.

I am supposed to electrocute my loved ones.

"Pull the switch," says the voice again,more impatiently this time. "You have no alternative"

I won't do this. I go to my mothers chair,and I try to free her wrists from the shackles. I keep prying and pulling at them till my fingers are bloody,but it won't give away.

"_DO IT NOW_!" screams the voice.

My stomach drops as I accept what I already knew. There is no other way. I have to kill them. The shock will surely be lethal.

All of a sudden,Posy looks up at me dozily. She gives me a gummy smile,a little drool running down her chin. I notice that in the chair,next to her,is her little doll Lilly.

I avert my eyes from her, and I wipe the moisture from my cheeks.

"_I'm sorry_," I whisper,closing my eyes. I can't see this.

And I pull the switch.

I don't see it,but my other senses tell me enough. I hear the sudden cackle of electricity,and smell the awful scent of sizzling flesh.

The next time I open my eyes,my body is still numb and tingling. I don't feel anything,but I'm lying face down,tied to the railway tracks. I see the city spread before me,and it feels dizzying. In the distance,I can hear the train approaching. I know what is going to happen. I'm going to be run over by the train. But it doesn't matter. After what I've done to my family I deserve this.

I can feel the vibrations from the train now,and hear the sound of the wheels in the rail. As the train approaches,bringing along my demise with it,I just relax my body and wait.

The next time I open my eyes,I can only vaguely remember the pain and the blinding flash of light as the train ran over me.

I'm in a sterile room lit brightly with overhead lights.

There's nothing in the room except for a stool with a gun on it. I know what I'm supposed to do. I slowly lift the gun up to my temple,but I can't get myself to do it. I close my eyes and take a deep breath and count backwards from three.

_Three._

_Two._

_One_.

I pull the trigger and hear a bang,and I'm floating away. I find myself in the same meadow where I encountered the ants,only without the anthills this time,but I don't allow myself to relax. It's there's a shadow all over the field, but when I look up there isn't a single cloud in the sky.

Goosebumps prickle over my arm as I turn around.

Behind me is a gigantic, fluffy, bunny rabbit ,the color of snow and the size of a T-Rex. Around the bunny's neck is a red collar with silver plaque, bearing the name s.

I catch my reflection in the plaque.

I am wearing a giant carrot costume.

I let out a girly scream and nearly piss my pants,(err carrot?) as the bunny begins to make its way towards me. It's rabbit teeth are black and decayed,and it's slavering with hunger. Its nose twitches as it scents me out. It's beady red eyes are fixated on me.

Mr Chuckles was my pet bunny when I was in third grade. My dad would always tell me that if I didn't look after him and he died,he would come back in his next life and haunt me.

I didn't believe him,and I went to Katniss for affirmation that it was false,but she's shook her head gravely and told me that the bunny would indeed come back,ten times larger and then proceed to eat me up. I laughed back then,but as fate would have it one day I came back from school to find Mr. Chuckle's cage empty and the door open. Despite my best efforts, I never saw him again,and I would always be afraid that what Katniss said was true and he would come and eat me.

And that's what's going to happen not if I can help it. After all,how fast can a bunny rabbit run?

"You won't eat me today,Mr. Chuckles!" I yell as I start running.

Sadly,carrot costumes are decidedly not made for running,as before I run a hundred yards, I trip over something and I fall. And the last thing I remember feeling before my eyes snap open in the fear landscape room is a giant pink nose nuzzling me.

"Mr Chuckles,huh?" comes Amar's voice,as if I'm dreaming.

I shake my head to wake myself up and I see Amar smiling at me. "Not bad at all," he says,not unkindly. " Seven fears is pretty low,kid".

I can't even manage a nod,and with shaky arms I pull myself up and walk unsteadily out of my room.

The other room consists of two long benches at opposite sides of the room. The room is as quiet as death and the initiates that I see in there are quite different from the ones that I saw this morning. They are pale and shaken, and a few of them have evidently been crying. There is room on only one of the benches,and the vacant space is right next to Katniss. Earlier,I would have been quite happy to sit next to her,but now i can barely do it. I killed her in my fear landscape.

I sit down next to her,leaving enough space between us for a third person.

To my surprise,she scoots over,covering the space between us till we are shoulder to shoulder.

" You were there in my fear landscape," she whispers quietly.

" I know,'" I reply in a small voice. " you were there in mine too"

She nods sadly, and silently ,without saying anything,catches my hand with hers.

Her hand is warm and alive, and it surprisingly makes me feel better.

Tris looks over at us and gives us a wan smile, before turning away her attention once more. I see tear tracks glistening down her cheeks. I wonder what she saw.

Before a minute elapse, Tobias walk into the room,followed closely by Amar.

Judging by the other initiates reaction,I can tell that I'm not alone in thinking that his fear landscape was over unusually fast

Tobias looks green, like he's about to puke,and he leans against the wall for support.

" Well, that was interesting, to say the very least," says Amar casually. " all those fears have made me quite ravenous. How 'bout you guys follow me for some lunch?"

I can't believe how crazy this faction is. First kill everyone you love,and then pretend like its nothing and go for lunch. A gurgle of manic sounding laughter escapes me. I can't believe I ever thought that this place was beautiful.

"Anything you want to say,Mr Chuckles?" Asks Amar innocently.

A few initiates give weak giggles.

I sober up immediately and shake my head no as the initiates begin exiting the room after Amar. Katniss and I are the last ones to go out. " Mr chuckles?" she asks "your old bunny rabbit? "

"Yeah," I say giving an embarrassed chuckle. " Remember what you said about him coming back ten times larger and eating me...?"

"No." Her voice contains barely suppressed laughter "that really happened? "

"And I was in a carrot suit. " I say glumly.

She starts laughing uncontrollably at this. "I wish I was there to see it" she gets out between giggles

" Don't laugh" I say crossly. " I was scared to death!"

She shuts up immediately. "Sorry " she apologizes.

"So you're talking to me now?" I ask hesitantly

She nods her head slowly. " Yeah, I it's not safe to be friends with me. "

I feel elated. I nod, but I feel like doing a happy dance and jump up and down."I don't care about safe,Katniss" I murmur " I missed you Catnip"

She looks at me for a second, and smiles back.

" I missed you too,Gale"

* * *

_**A/N**: Sorry that the chapter is so late! Hope you liked Gales landscape! Writing it was quite an experience. Especially writing Mr. Chuckles ;)_

_Please review! Dauntless cake for everyone :) _


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